Laura Booth took these photos during the
2007 October Sky Festival. Astronaut William Readdy is signing
autographs in one picture; he is sitting at the table with the NASA group that
brought the moon rock that was on display. One of the pictures is of Homer
sitting on the church steps with a school group.
http://picasaweb.google.com/LauraLBooth27/OctoberSkyFestival02

See Rocketman Photos
Jack and Kathy Colpas wrote:

"Dear friends of Coalwood,

The event was fantastic! The Florida Rocket Boys felt like homecoming heroes.
Thanks so much for your effort. It was a terrific inspiration for all of the
young minds that attended.

For more information on the Reach for the Stars contest, please visit this web
site:
www.therocketman.net

Below are the articles which appeared on
this web site before the
2007 October Sky Festival.

October Sky actor to be in Coalwood,
October 6, 2007!
For the first time ever, a cast member from the film version of October Sky
will make an appearance at this year’s event. Scott Miles, who portrayed Homer’s
older brother Jim Hickam in the movie, will be on hand to meet fans of the movie
and “bring a touch of Hollywood to Coalwood”, said event organizers. Mr. Miles
has starred in several major motion pictures and television series in addition
to “October Sky”, including “Remember the Titans”, “The Patriot” and “Star
Trek-Voyager”. Read more
about Scott on the Internet Movie Database.

Former Astronaut Bill Readdy
Scheduled to be at the 2007 October Sky Festival!Photo: NASA.

International Space Station To Fly Over
Coalwood!
Linda Hickam writes: "To help celebrate the October Sky Festival, NASA, the
Russian Space Agency, and the laws of physics have agreed to fly the
International Space Station over Coalwood, West Virginia, the night of Thursday,
October 4, 2007 [Sputnik's 50th Anniversary] at 7:32 p.m. The
International Space Station will also fly over Coalwood October 5 at 7:53 p.m.,
and again at 8:18 p.m. on Saturday night [the actual date of the 2007 October
Sky Festival]. If there aren't too many clouds, we should be able to see it!!"

Reach for the Stars
Winners
The 2007 Reach for the Stars contest has finished. They sent this press release:
"We are thrilled that two of our young winners will be able to join us in
Coalwood for the [2007] October Sky Festival to meet Homer Hickam and launch
with you - the original Rocket Boys and astronaut Bill Readdy. We are as excited
as the kids. (A
short TV news clip is attached.) Go to
http://www.bradenton.com/local/story/153229.html to see the newspaper
article." For more information on the Reach for the Stars contest,
please visit their web site:
www.therocketman.net

9th
Annual
October Sky FestivalSaturday, October 6, 2007
Coalwood, West Virginia, USA
The Ninth Annual October Sky Festival in Coalwood, West Virginia, will be
Saturday, October 6, 2007, when Coalwood will also be celebrating the 50th
anniversary of Sputnik. All the Rocket Boys plan to be
there as well as former astronaut Bill Readdy. Readdy is a veteran pilot
astronaut with three space flights, STS-42 (January 22-30, 1992), STS-51
(September 12-22, 1993) and STS-79 (September 16-26, 1996). Readdy has logged
over 672 hours in space.
See Bill's NASA biography. Note: all general times and information for
the October Sky Festival remain the same year-to-year. Please scroll down
for details. We hope to see you in Coalwood!